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Remembering ANS member Gil Brown
Brown
The nuclear community is mourning the loss of Gilbert Brown, who passed away on July 11 at the age of 77 following a battle with cancer.
Brown, an American Nuclear Society Fellow and an ANS member for nearly 50 years, joined the faculty at Lowell Technological Institute—now the University of Massachusetts–Lowell—in 1973 and remained there for the rest of his career. He eventually became director of the UMass Lowell nuclear engineering program. After his retirement, he remained an emeritus professor at the university.
Sukesh Aghara, chair of the Nuclear Engineering Department Heads Organization, noted in an email to NEDHO members and others that “Gil was a relentless advocate for nuclear energy and a deeply respected member of our professional community. He was also a kind and generous friend—and one of the reasons I ended up at UMass Lowell. He served the university with great dedication. . . . Within NEDHO, Gil was a steady presence and served for many years as our treasurer. His contributions to nuclear engineering education and to this community will be dearly missed.”
Steven P. Nesbit, Richard J. Gerling, Gregg B. Swindlehurst
Nuclear Technology | Volume 83 | Number 3 | December 1988 | Pages 344-352
Technical Paper | Fifth International Retran Meeting / Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow | doi.org/10.13182/NT88-A34147
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A comprehensive program by the Duke Power Company to qualify thermal-hydraulic transient analysis methods has been completed. The cornerstone of these methods is the use of the RETRAN-02/MOD003 computer code for the prediction of reactor coolant system behavior during plant transients. A RETRAN model of the Oconee nuclear station [three 2568-MW(thermal) Babcock & Wilcox reactors] was constructed and validated by comparison with data from actual plant events. The transient data base was searched to identify those events that are challenging to the predictive ability of the code and that have sufficient information available for a meaningful comparison between the code and the data. Nine events were selected, covering the following range of transient types: loss of primary-to-secondary heat transfer, excessive primary-to-secondary heat transfer [including steam generator (SG) overfeed and SG depressurization], loss of forced primary circulation, change in core reactivity, and operational transient without reactor trip. For each benchmark, a detailed review was made of all available sources of information in order to develop a complete set of initial and boundary conditions. The plant base model was modified to match the actual initial conditions, and the event was simulated using the best representation of the key boundary conditions. Four transient benchmarks are discussed in detail. The August 14, 1984, loss of all feedwater at Unit 3 demonstrates the effect of SG dryout on the primary system. The September 10, 1982, turbine bypass valve failure involves the posttrip overcooling of the primary system due to SG depressurization. The August 8, 1982, dropped control rod group event shows the effect of a rapid change in core reactivity on the plant. The July 15, 1985, main feedwater pump trip without reactor trip is characterized by a successful runback following a large mismatch between power generation and power removal. The accurate prediction of key phenomena during these and other events provides justification for the application of RETRAN to simulate the Oconee plant response to a wide variety of non-loss-of-coolant accident transients.
